Asia May Be Due for More Earthquakes

A professor of geological sciences at the University of Colorado, Dr. Peter Molnar, says that Asia may be due for more large earthquakes in the near future. Citing the frequency of M8.0 or larger earthquakes that have happened in the Himalayas (1803, 1833, 1897, 1905, 1934 and 1950) and a relatively quiet period from 1950 to present day, Molnar and others believe that significant stress may be accumulating in the region.

“Those of us in the business knew we were overdue,” said Peter Molnar, a professor of geological sciences at the University of Colorado. Molnar was a co-author of a 2001 article in the journal Science that looked at the history of Himalayan earthquakes and how much tectonic stress was building up as the Indian subcontinent crashes into Asia.

The Science article warned, “Several lines of evidence show that one or more great earthquakes may be overdue in a large fraction of the Himalaya, threatening millions of people in that region.”